Sabotage? Kebbi Governor questions security conduct before abduction of 25 School Girls

Kebbi State Governor Mohammed Nasir Idris on Monday night expressed anger over what he described as a failure by security agencies to act on credible intelligence from the Department of State Services (DSS) before the attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.

Gunmen had invaded the school in the early hours of Monday, killing the vice principal and kidnapping 25 female students.

Three of the girls later managed to escape.

A top security source told Very Nigerian that Governor Idris, who arrived at the school around 6:45 p.m. on Monday, accused unnamed security agencies of sabotaging the efforts put in place by his administration to prevent such an attack.

“This is clear sabotage. We got credible intelligence from the DSS that this school was likely to be attacked.”

“DSS further advised that we convene an emergency Security Council meeting which we did. And the decision was that we would provide round-the-clock protection for the students,” the governor said.

He added that he took the DSS alert seriously, especially because poor handling of similar intelligence had led to the December 2020 Kankara abduction in Katsina State, where over 300 schoolchildren were kidnapped.

Governor Idris lamented that security personnel were deployed to protect the school but reportedly spent time taking photographs with students before abandoning their posts just 30 minutes before the attack.

During his visit, accompanied by security chiefs, the governor announced the establishment of a special investigation panel to uncover why the attack succeeded despite the intelligence and efforts of the state government.

The panel, which will also oversee the rescue operations, will be headed by the State Director of the DSS.

One of the teachers who escaped told Pointblanknews.com that he was shocked by the development, considering the presence of several armed officers who had arrived on Sunday to conduct emergency drills with students and teachers.

“The heavily armed security men spent the entire night guarding the school. Sadly, for yet-to-be-determined reasons, they left before dawn.”

“About 30 minutes after they withdrew, the kidnappers struck,” the teacher said.

He added that the credibility of the DSS intelligence likely influenced the governor’s decision to appoint the DSS director to lead the special committee.

“The good news is that there is sufficient reason to believe the girls were kidnapped, not killed. With ongoing efforts by the federal and state governments, we are hopeful that they will all be rescued,” he stated.

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